Scotty J. Reineke, 35, of Bradford, appeared via video uplink from the Ohio Correctional Reception Center where he is currently incarcerated on charges of parole violation. Reineke allegedly violated the terms of his parole in Miami County, which specified that he was not to have access to computers or social media platforms such as Facebook. Reineke was convicted of disseminating matter harmful to a juvenile and pandering obscenity involving a minor in June of 2015.

“When you’ve been convicted of a sex offense, you’re not supposed to be using social media because that’s how you can potentially draw in another victim,” Judge Hein said.

Reineke’s parole violation in Miami County also serves as a violation of the terms of his supervised release in Darke County. Reineke was granted judicial release on Jan. 10 of this year after serving two-and-a-half years of an initial five-year sentence.

Reineke allegedly exchanged sexually explicit dialogue and images with at least two underage girls over the internet, a 10-year-old in Greenville and a 13-year-old girl in Wisconsin. His previous record includes convictions for raping a mentally disabled man and gross sexual imposition involving a 12-year-old girl.

Reineke’s release was predicated, in part, on statistics showing that sex offenders, once released, are less likely to reoffend than other types of criminals, provided they are released into an atmosphere of supervision and accountability. Judge Hein cautioned that these statistics are not foolproof, however.

“Probabilities don’t dictate behavior,” Hein said. “So we always have to know that those numbers don’t guarantee anything. If you have 100 people and 10 percent are going to reoffend, you don’t have any idea who those 10 are going to be.”

Reineke was ordered released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance is a judgment hearing to be held Dec. 17.